New Conquest Mode Live!
Been working on the new Conquest Mode these past few weeks. It became public last week in an "alpha" stage to put it through its paces. Here's a video going through all the features:
What is Conquest?
Conquest mode is an asymmetrical offline multiplayer mode where players create a profile belonging to one of three factions and battle it out for territory on a shared world map.
Create A Profile
Profile Creation:
- Choose your commander name
- Choose your profile picture
- Select your faction between Imperial, Uprising, and Raider
No difference between the factions at the moment, this may change in the future.
You will spawn at your home system where you start by configuring your ship like you would for the standard campaign. Once your ship is geared out and captain assigned you can join the map.
The map is made of 200 sectors which can be claimed and battled over. Travel radius is defined by the circle around your current location, this is influenced by the Warpgate level on a sector.
Sectors are color-coded to:
- blue: sectors you own
- green: sectors your faction owns
- red: enemy faction
- white: unclaimed sectors
The Conquest Map
You can see important structures surrounding each planet: Shipyard, warp gate, and defense platform. These can be built by the sector owner.
Sector Buildings
Total list of buildings:
- Shipyard: A way station for purchase of repairs and resupply at this sector, the higher the shipyard level, the cheaper the repairs/supplies.
- Warp Gate: Increases the jump range from this sector.
- Defense platform: Creates a weapons platform, defense outpost, or battle station depending on level to help in the defense of the sector if challenged.
- Refinery: Increases the credit production of this sector for the owner every 24 hrs.
- Research Station: Increases the upgrade point production for the owner every 24 hrs.
Selecting a sector will give you several pieces of information and options:
The sector profile board will show you the sector name (you can rename it if you control it), the system level, how far it is developed till the next level, and the unrest level. Below is the list of structures and the generated income.
Enemy Options:
- engage the sector if not of your faction to try to gain control of it. This will start a battle where any enemy faction fleets that are present will defend (defended), or the local garrison will match your forces in defense if no player fleets are present (undefended)
Friendly Options:
You can assist a friendly sector for a reward in three ways:
- Delivery development: This is an escort mission that will increase that sectors development, once enough have been completed, the sector will rise in level which increases the number of buildings it can have.
- Crush Unrest: Unrest will increase for each owned but undefended sector, once unrest reaches its limit, the sector will revert back to neutral. Completing this mission will reset the unrest level back to zero.
- Enforce warp lane: increases the connectivity between two sectors, warping along this path will reduce supply costs by 15% per warp lane level. Lanes will be represented by lines from the current system.
You can also simply warp to the system to move your fleet. Warping between sectors will cost fleet supply, the amount is determined by the size of the fleet, the distance, and the warp lane level.
Overtime warp routes should develop as people enforce them. Alternatively, you can also lower a warp lane by Raiding, this option will appear on a developed warp lane between at least one unfriendly sector and your current location. The mission is to destroy a warp beacon, the enemy fleet will then warp in to respond where you will ambush and destroy that fleet to reduce a warp lane by one level.
When attacking a sector, the system's structures will also appear (shipyard, warp gate). If you destroy these buildings, it will also reduce that building level on the sector level.
Ragnarok
There is a planet in the center that is twice as large as any other and is always visible, this will be used as a king of the hill battlezone for showing off your strongest fleets.
Your deeds will be broadcast to the rest of the sector on the Activity Panel for all to see and be in awe of your conquest, achievements, and glory.
That the basics of Conquest, hope you get a chance to check it out. I will see you on the map!